


The Golden Widow

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel, Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, MCU AU Yelena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 19:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3989488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yelena Belova wonders if there's anything left to her at all. </p>
<p>(MCU AU Yelena Belova, where Yelena got recruited for Hydra after escaping the Red Room. Now that SHIELD/Hydra has dissolved, she is on her own, trying to figure out who she is and put her life back together. Set between CA:TWS and AOU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Golden Widow

Yelena Belova had only her name.

It was not the first time this had happened. She felt just as lost as the last time, however, wandering without a direction.  The Red Room and Department X had done nothing for her in the end, and so had Hydra. No one knew her name, or even her title. Agent 8 was a name lost in Hydra's archives, never to be notorious like the Black Widow.

One day, people would know Yelena Belova's name. But not today.

She had gone back to her old ways now, taking kill jobs for money. It was all she knew how to do, and all she was really useful for. She imagined she was at least attracting some attention, but probably not the good kind. She knew how to handle it, though – not many tangled with her and lived. There had only been one person who had truly matched her, but thankfully, Yelena hadn't seen her in years.

Yelena had established herself in a small apartment in a big city, making herself known to the local felons as someone they could hire to do their dirty work for them.  Other than that, she kept to herself, not wanting to engage with any of the public. There were plenty of blonde women in the city, and she wouldn't stand out. That was one way in which she bested Natalia – she wasn't stupid enough to do covert spy work with a signature hair color. 

I t wasn't often that she left the safety of her tiny little apartment, but she still had to eat. No one had to know where she got her money from, and she could survive in this city for a while, at least.  She decided to indulge a little, heading to a fast food restaurant to get something delicious instead of her usual boring fare. She had a lot of complaints about America, but there was something about a cheeseburger that she just couldn't resist. 

S he sat down at one of the outside tables once she acquired her cheeseburger. It was chilly out, but she always felt a little safer when she had an easy exit. She had been trapped in too many buildings for her liking, and she craved open space.  She wrapped her jacket a little tighter around herself, trying to keep out the chill. 

As she ate, a flash of red caught her eye. She couldn't help but pay attention when she saw redhaired people in public – it was an old habit she'd never really been able to shake. As her eyes focused on the person in question, however, she felt a sick jolt.

_There's no way. It can't be._

The woman's hair was shorter than she remembered Natalia's being, but there was no mistaking that face. Yelena watched as the woman went into the restaurant, her eyes wide, unable to help her staring. Of all the places for Natalia to show up.

For a moment, she panicked. Her last encounters with Natalia hadn't exactly been...pleasant.  But there was also a part of her that didn't want to miss out on another one. She had no idea when the other woman would appear in her life again, if ever. That, and she had been wondering what happened to Natalia since the fall of SHIELD. She had known Natalia had been working with SHIELD, but Natalia had had no idea that Yelena was deep within Hydra, closer to her than she thought. 

After a little while, Natalia came back out of the restaurant, seeming to have the same idea in regard to the outside chairs. She looked around, seeming to be searching for an open table, but then her eyes landed on Yelena. Yelena couldn't help but flinch, and there was still a part of her that wanted to run.

The only reaction she saw in Natalia's face was a slight widening of her eyes, but other than that, the redhaired woman was much better than Yelena at controlling her reactions.  Yelena watched, frozen, as Natalia sat down directly in front of her, taking the chair across from her as if they were old friends.

They were old  _ something _ , at least. Yelena just wasn't sure what.

“Long time, no see.” Natalia's voice was cautious, and Yelena instinctively tensed, still wary around Natalia. Natalia had done some questionable things to her to try and prove points, and she had to wonder if Natalia had another strange plan in store for her this time. For a moment, she had half a whim to pretend she was someone else, that she didn't recognize Natalia. But Natalia would know.

“Your hair's different,” Yelena said, her gaze cautious as she looked at Natalia. Natalia was fairly unreadable, per usual, but she did look a little wary. _Good. You_ should _be wary of me._

“People tend to do that, you know. Change their hair.” Natalia's voice was still even, and it was hard to read any sort of tone. Yelena continued to watch her. Her eyes were just as green as she remembered, even after all these years. She had thought that maybe, they had become exaggerated in her memory. 

There was a silence for a while, and then Yelena spoke. She had never liked small talk much.

“Why are you here, Natalia?”

“Same as you. To get a burger.” Natalia shrugged, taking a bite out of her food. “For once, I promise I wasn't tracking you. I have bigger fish to fry right now. And frankly, I'm surprised you're still in America. I thought you hated it here.”

“I do. But here is where the paying work is, right now.” _Or at least, it was._ She wouldn't be working with Hydra again, though. 

“There's paying work everywhere, Lena,” Natalia said, and Yelena cringed a little at being called a nickname. She always found it patronizing. “So really, you're here because you like the food. I'm right, aren't I?”

Yelena scowled, feeling like Natalia had reduced her to a little girl again. Which was ridiculous, considering they were the same age. Natalia always loved to act like she was significantly older than Yelena, even though that wasn't the case.

“There's nothing wrong with enjoying cheeseburgers.” It felt strange to banter with Natalia like this, because Yelena still felt like she had a hidden agenda she wasn't talking about yet. Encounters with Natalia always came with a price, and Yelena wasn't stupid enough to believe that this had been an innocent coincidence.

“Are you in town long?” Yelena changed the subject, wondering if she could get at least a little information out of Natalia. Natalia shrugged again, her indecision making Yelena squirm inwardly with irritation.

“I don't know. I'm in town until I need to run again. I'm sure you've seen why, it's all over the internet,” Natalia said.

“I can't afford internet, so I don't use it. If you've done something scandalous, I've been too busy to pay attention.” Yelena had been focused mostly on her own escape from Hydra, and although she knew Natalia had been involved with the fall of SHIELD, she didn't know the details. That seemed to surprise Natalia, because Yelena saw her eyebrows raise slightly.

“I thought you'd be the first one to want to read all of that, honestly,” Natalia said, and Yelena frowned.

“All of what?”

“I dumped my entire SHIELD file on the internet, along with the rest of SHIELD's data.” Natalia's voice lowered a bit, and Yelena leaned a bit closer to hear her.

“I assume there was a really good reason why you did that, then?” Yelena couldn't imagine that Natalia would spill her entire ledger to the public willingly. Although now that she thought about it more, that meant data about Yelena herself was out in the open, and Yelena wasn't sure how comfortable she was with that. She wasn't comfortable with it at all, really.

“I had to.” Natalia shrugged. “Anyway, it's done now. I'm surprised you haven't done any digging, but if you want to continue to refrain, I wouldn't be opposed to that at all.” Yelena wasn't sure if she wanted to read all of Natalia's private information. In the past, she would have jumped at the chance, but she didn't feel as much animosity for Natalia these days. She also knew that there was so much Natalia could dig up about her to get revenge, if she wanted to. 

It occurred to her that Natalia  _ hadn't  _ gone digging, because she wouldn't have sought her out right now if she had known Yelena had worked with Hydra. Yelena hoped she could keep that part secret. She doubted her interaction with Natalia would last long, anyway. Natalia would be on her way, as she always was. She never stayed long. 

“Like I said, Natalia. I don't use the internet. Have you seen the prices for that lately?” That was another thing Yelena hated about America – cable and internet prices were a fucking racket. She didn't know if it was the same anywhere else, but it still gave her a reason to complain. 

Y elena's comment about the internet made Natalia laugh, which surprised Yelena. 

“Of all the things that have happened lately, and you complain about cable company prices.”

“They're ridiculous! I have every right to complain.”

Natalia finished up her cheeseburger, a half smile still on her face from Yelena's comment. It still felt strange to Yelena that Natalia was being so friendly, and she found she couldn't exactly smile back.

“So I guess you've gone domestic, then, if you're complaining about that kind of thing. Have you settled down?” Natalia sipped her drink, watching Yelena. Natalia's gaze was making Yelena uncomfortable, but she found she couldn't look away from those green eyes, either. 

“I have a shitty apartment in the city, nothing special. I doubt I'll be here long.” Yelena wasn't exactly sure about that, but she didn't want to give the impression that she'd be here a long time. It was better to keep on the move, anyway, and she imagined Natalia was doing the same thing.

“Same here, then. It looks like we've crossed paths by accident.”

“ _Looks like._ I still think you have some sort of agenda, Natalia.” Yelena folded her arms, and Natalia frowned a little. 

“You say you've been too busy to be concerned with me, Yelena? I've been three times as busy as you, so I certainly don't have time for an 'agenda.' I'm done trying to teach you anything, because you've proved you never listen.” Natalia gave Yelena an even look over her drink, and Yelena bristled a little. 

“And I'm supposed to believe this is just a friendly visit? We've never been friends, Natalia.” _We were something else, once. But I doubt you remember, thanks to the Soldier._

“We stopped by the same cheeseburger place, christ. No need to get your panties in a bunch about it. I just figured I'd come over and say hi.” Natalia got up, throwing away the trash from her food. “But you don't seem to want me here, so I'm going to leave. See you around, I guess.”

“If I stay here for long,” Yelena didn't get up, resisting the temptation to tell her to stay.

“You will. You like the cheeseburgers too much to leave.”


End file.
